
News Round-Up: June 25, 2021

Gay Valedictorian Says Speech From Memory After Principal Tries To Cut It Short https://t.co/ukrqrqqInN # #Graduation #HighSchool #lgbt pic.twitter.com/xvTSONzzb3
— Instinct Magazine (@instinctmag) June 25, 2021
• New York Times: The Manhattan district attorney’s office has informed Donald Trump’s lawyers that criminal charges against his family business, the Trump Organization, in connection with fringe benefits the company awarded its chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, could be announced as soon as next week. • Justice Dept: Michael Atkinson, 28, Pablo Ceniceros-Deleon, 21, and Daryl Henry, 24, were sentenced to prison terms for their involvement in targeting gay men for violent crimes. The sentences ranged from 11-22 years for luring five men (using the Grindr dating app) to a vacant apartment in Dallas where they held the men at gunpoint, kidnapped, carjacked, and assaulted them. • Out Music: I recently shared the latest from out singer/songwriter Kentö, and today the artist (top photo) drops the official music video for the single, “Silhouette.” “Silhouette” is the first single from Kentö’s upcoming album release, Strangers, slated for release later this year. Kentö shares, “I feel like I’m finally making music that is really expressing the sounds that have been in my head all along.” https://youtu.be/fVUuXa2UHGw
Pride Music: Madame Gandhi ‘Freedom’

Out Music: A Great Big World & Travis Wall ‘Boys In The Street’
I’m certain the emotionally raw new music video from Grammy winners A Great Big World for “Boys In The Street” will strike a chord deep within LGBTQ audiences. Directed by Se Oh and choreographed by Emmy Award winning choreographer Travis Wall (So You Think You Can Dance), the video chronicles the story of a father’s journey to accepting his son for who he is. Through Wall’s richly layered choreography, we follow a young gay man (alternately played by Aydin Eyikan and Wall) who fights to save his fractured relationship with a homophobic father (Colin Cunliffe). Kudos to director Oh for using light and darkness as a metaphor for the father’s inability to truly ‘see’ his son. The song and video delicately crystallizes both the pain and hope that LGBTQ young people experience in their search for affirmation from their parents. Chad King, vocalist for A Great Big World, shared his thoughts on the video with HuffPost: “I would love for people to connect with the honesty and authenticity of the story behind the song and video, and to maybe have an awareness and appreciation for someone else’s struggles and differences in a way they haven’t had before. I am so proud of the video and how it captures the feeling the song gives me. I hope others will connect to it in a similar way!” 
“Boys In The Street” follows A Great Big World’s “Fall On Me” with Christina Aguilera, both of which will be featured on their third full-length album due out this August. The latter has generated more than 30 million streams worldwide and reunited A Great Big World with Aguilera following their seven-times-platinum GRAMMY award-winning hit “Say Something.” Follow the band on Instagram here and Travis Wall here. 
News Round-Up: June 22, 2021
Some news items you might have missed: • New York Times: Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked the most ambitious voting rights legislation to come before Congress in a generation, using the filibuster to deal a blow to a bid by President Biden and Democrats to counter a wave of state-level ballot restrictions. Continue reading “News Round-Up: June 22, 2021”
Out Music: Kentö, Shea Diamond, Cade Bittner, Harrison Barnes, Sarah Barrios

You can follow the handsome artist on Instagram here.
https://youtu.be/fVUuXa2UHGw

Since its debut earlier this month, the latest track from Cade Bittner has seen his new single, “Dancing In My Own Light,” run up the charts in the UK and hit #3 on the iTunes Dance Chart. The vibrant dance-pop track has a buoyant bounce that definitely brings a taste of the Pride rainbow. “I wanted to write a song that made people feel happy and dance,” says Bittner. “It has been a hard year for so many… and although the message is universal, I wrote this as an anthem for my LGBT+ community. It’s about loving who you were born to be.” Bounce down to that play button and enjoy. You can follow the Minneapolis-based artist on Instagram here.
Las Vegas-based singer/songwriter Harrison Barnes serves up his latest sexy pop bop, “Call My Name,” about a ex coming back for another round. The moody, intoxicating electro-pop soundscape is matched with a shadowy, abs-out, wet and wild dance video that reminds us how fun music videos can be. “Call My Name” in an infectious track made for summer pool parties. Follow Barnes on Instagram here.
Singer/songwriter Sarah Barrios penned her latest track, “IH8EVERY1,” as part of her “You Ask, I Write” series on TikTok with a short snippet initially shared on May 3rd of this year. After its viral response on TikTok with over 3 million plays and over 650k likes, she knew she had to release the full version. The rock-tinged single is full of sass and cheeky unfiltered fun as Barrios delivers an authentic, audacious turn reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper. “Fairytales are hard to believe sometimes, especially if your prince or princess charming doesn’t turn out to be who you hoped them to be,” shares Barrios. “It’s easy to give up on love and hope altogether and can make you feel like it’s you against the world. But every once in a while, you meet someone you don’t mind being around, and you start to feel that small sliver of hope. That’s what this song is about.” “HAPPY PRIDE FROM UR FAVE MESSY BISEXUAL!” wrote Sarah Barrios on her Instagram at the beginning of the month. “Took a few years but I finally made it!!! This is my first pride out of the closet and my god does it feel good.”
Out Music: Kat Cunning Celebrates Pride With ‘Boys’
Non-binary artist and actor Kat Cunning has released the official music video for their song “Boys” in celebration of Pride 2021. The entire cast and crew of the fun and joy-filled music video identifies as either transgender or non-binary. Continue reading “Out Music: Kat Cunning Celebrates Pride With ‘Boys’”
Podcast: Pride Month 2021, Bakery Hit By Homophobia, The Latest From Eli Lieb
In this week’s headlines: • For the first time in five years, the LGBTQ community not only received full-throated support from the man in the Oval Office, but President Joe Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris all issued video greetings to LGBTQ Americans for Pride Month • Congress votes to make Pulse Nightclub a national memorial • Gay men in the UK will have an easier time donating blood • A bakery in Texas experienced hideous homophobia for saying ‘Happy Pride’ and then the internet stepped in • Eli Lieb drops the perfect anthem for Pride Month ‘Boys Who Like Boys’ All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Out Music: Grace Gaustad ‘Creature’

Out Music: Robert Bannon ‘I Think He Knew’
New York City cabaret performer and SNL regular Robert Bannon recently released his new original video and single, “I Think He Knew Me,” for Pride Month. This tender video chronicles the relationship between a father and son where the son reveals to his father that..well, you know…
The single and music video are a prelude to the release of Bannon’s debut album, Unfinished Business, on July 2, 2021. The new collection of cover songs includes duets with Grammy Nominee Jane Monheit and Loren Smith (back-up singer for Michael Bublé). If you’re in the New York City area, you can catch Bannon live/in person at Feinsteins/54 Below on July 30 – Ticket info here. And you can follow him on Instagram here. https://www.instagram.com/p/CP-yTR_hrXZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link